Methods

We enrolled 89 eyes (all left eyes), including 45 (of 45 patients) eyes with glaucoma and 44 (of 44 patients) normal eyes. The data from macular measurements using spectral domain optical coherence tomography were analyzed according to groups divided by age and glaucoma status. The macular thickness analysis, GCL/IPL thickness, and RNFL thickness values determined by SD-OCT scans were compared among the groups.

Results

Mean macular thickness decreased significantly with age or glaucoma. Mean GCL/IPL thickness decreased significantly in glaucomatous eyes in all sectors but did not decrease with age. Mean RNFL thickness, which was divided into four quadrants (superior, nasal, inferior, and temporal), decreased significantly in glaucomatous eyes at all quadrants and decreased in the temporal quadrant with age in non-glaucomatous eyes. No significant differences were detected between eyes with normal tension glaucoma (NTG) and primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) in all sectors of mean GCL/IPL thickness, RNFL thickness, and macular thickness.

Conclusions

No significant difference in mean thickness was detected between eyes with NTG and POAG. Some of the sectors of RNFL thickness decreased with age or glaucoma. GCL/IPL thickness, however, decreased in glaucomatous eyes but not with age. Therefore, GCL/IPL thickness is less influenced by age when monitoring patients with glaucoma or suspect glaucoma.

Keywords

Notes

Acknowledgements

This study was approved by the institutional review board of Dankook University Hospital, Korea and complied with the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki.

Author’s contribution

JWJ, MWL collected the data, made the analysis and composed the manuscript. KJC designed the study, reviewed and approved the manuscript. This research was supported by a grant of the Korea Health Technology R&D Project through the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI), funded by the Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea (Grant Number: HI15C1524).